Apps World: TegTap brings games for kids to Windows Phone 8

Last year Windows Phone Central brought our readers the first news that indie developer TegTap would be releasing its popular 3D shooter Solar Warfare on Windows Phone and Windows 8. Before we give you an updated status report on Solar Warfare’s progress, let’s look at what else TegTap has been cooking up for mobile Windows platforms in the meantime.

At Apps World in San Francisco, we met with TegTap CEO Troy Tegeder to check out his studio’s lineup of kids’ games for Windows Phone and Windows 8. They’ve already published Dragon Maker for both phone and tablet/PC, and My Fairy Pony and Balloon Maker just for Windows Phone. All phone versions run on devices with 512 MB of RAM such as the Nokia Lumia 520.

We've got the full details and a hands-on video after the break.

My Fairy Pony

Here’s a game targeted at girls (and those brony guys that everyone likes to pick on). Players get to customize and interact with four cute ponies in a full 3D environment. Change the pony’s color, shoes, add wings and a horn, or even a My Little Pony-like cutie mark on its side.

All four of the player’s ponies roam around in a detailed wilderness environment. Besides watching and interacting with the ponies, players can search for chests scattered throughout the landscape. Open a chest and you’ll either receive a new customization part or carrots to feed to the ponies.

Dragon Maker

If ponies aren’t your kid’s thing, perhaps he or she will enjoy this dragon-themed game instead. It works exactly like My Fairy Pony, except with dragons instead of ponies. Players can change the colors of each part of the dragon, creating some bold and unique combinations. You can even change the color of the fire they breathe.

Like TegTap’s pony game, kids will spend their time looking for chests when not interacting with their dragons. There are always three chests spread around the environment, with a new one appearing whenever another gets emptied. The chests in this game contain either dragon parts or marshmallows, a young dragon’s favorite treat.

Balloon Maker

This game is aimed at very young children who are just learning to use a touch screen. Tap anywhere on screen to create a balloon. The longer you touch the screen, the larger the balloon you’ll create. Kids can create lots of balloons at once, which will then bounce away from each other realistically.

Tap a balloon to pop it. Flip the device around and the balloons will still float up, just as in real life. Shaking the device causes the background to switch from day to night. There are no wrong moves or menus to confuse your child in Balloon Maker – just lots of balloons to fill and pop.